The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page A007

MAGENTA BLACK 7 1 Ed Mo THE PALM BEACH POST TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1,2011 7A 50 overdose deaths blamed on scheme More than a foot fell on Fort Lauderdale mkcz- JLsf fr Dianna Pavnick George (left), the wife of Chris George, leaves the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach. She and his mother, Denice Haggerty, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They face up to five years in prison. J. GWENDOLYNNE BERRY Staff Photographer JfT GEORGES from 1A George pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Feb. 3. After he was led out of the courtroom in leg irons, his 27-year-old wife and 58-year-old mother stood side-by-side before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra. Each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Both face possible five-year prison terms and $250,000 fines when they are sentenced Feb. 10. At their attorneys' request, Marra delayed a formal finding of guilt for the two women. As convicted felons, Dianna George and Hag-gerty wouldn't be able to visit Chris George at the Palm Beach County Jail, where he has been held since last fall on a weapons charge, their attorneys explained. Dianna George wouldn't be able to visit the jail with the couple's 4-month-old daughter, who has never seen her father wearing anything but prison blues.

Marra granted the request after being assured it was a technicality and wouldn't affect the women's guilty pleas. A small coterie of friends and family, including family patriarch John Paul George and Chris George's infant daughter, attended the sentencing. But one notable person was absent: Jeff George. Additional plea deals Four others joined members of the George family in pleading guilty in federal court Monday. That means 27 of the 33 people indicted in August have reached plea deals.

Dr. Roni Dreszer, 36, of Sunny Isles Beach: Conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a possible 10-year prison term and $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Feb. 3. Dr.

Daniel Hauser, 61, of Hollywood: Conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces the same punishment Feb. 3. Dr. Augusto Lizarazo, 71, of Boca Raton: Three charges, including money laundering conspiracy.

The terms of his plea deal weren't available. Zachary Horsley, 25, of Royal Palm Beach: Racketeering conspiracy, punishable by 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The terms of his plea deal weren't available. Source: Federal court documents tional Airport recorded a little more than 1 inch of rain Sunday and 0.3 inches Monday. As much as 2 inches fell in other areas.

Palm Beach County didn't even get the worst of the weekend storms. Fort Lauderdale received 12.15 inches between Friday night and Monday morning. Miami Beach saw 11.7 inches, and Coconut Grove got 10.72 inches. Broward and Miami-Dade counties were under sporadic flood warnings through Monday, and parts of coastal central Broward County will be under a flood warning today. Palm Beach County was under neither a flood warning nor watch Monday, but its beaches will have a high risk of rip currents through the middle of the week, the county division of emergency management said.

The rainfall total in the West Palm Beach area was 3 inches above normal in October, the first month of the dry season. The weather service said 8 inches fell at the airport in October. The rain should clear up by this morning, bringing sunny skies and a high of about 81 degrees. The front will move to the south, and drier conditions will continue through Sunday, according to the forecast. There will be a chance of showers today, but "nothing like what we've seen," Molleda said.

alexandraseltzerpbpost.com Weather on the Web Weather news, radar and more on the free Weather app available for the iPad and iPhone. PalmBeachPost.com STORMS from 1A southern Palm Beach County on Friday night and spawned a tornado that damaged 42 mobile homes in Hobe Sound on Saturday morning. They also boosted the level of drought-stricken Lake Okeechobee to 13.47 feet above sea level Monday about the same as it was a year ago. "All in all, it's good to have some rain," said Robert Molleda, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service. "Unfortunately, sometimes it falls too much at one time, so in the short term, it causes some problems." The first system that passed through the region contained the remnants of Rina, which was a Category 2 hurricane aimed at Florida a week ago but a mere tropical depression when it drifted north toward the peninsula Friday.

Rina hit Palm Beach County the heaviest in Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Highland Beach and Boca Raton, where there was isolated flooding. It also caused flooding in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Other parts of Palm Beach County saw heavy rain Saturday. Only about a half-inch fell in West Palm Beach on Friday night but about 3 inches fell there Saturday, the weather service said. A front making its way to South Florida arrived Saturday when it stalled on the southern tip of the peninsula.

That caused storms that doused the region from Saturday afternoon through Monday afternoon, Molleda said. Palm Beach Interna Beach and Broward counties distributed more than 6.1 million tablets of oxycodone from 2008 through 2009, prosecutors said. That didn't include prescriptions that were written at American Pain clinics and filled elsewhere. In total, doctors at American Pain wrote prescriptions for 18 million tablets of oxycodone over about two years, prosecutors said. The brothers made more than $40 million in the enterprise they operated after getting out of the illegal anabolic steroid business, prosecutors said.

That business came back to haunt Chris George. Having been convicted of a felony in connection with the steroid business, he was charged with the weapons offense when agents investigating his pain clinics discovered guns and ammunition in his house. It's illegal for felons to have weapons. Jeff George, who also made millions selling fraudulent time-share units, approached his brother with the idea to branch out into pain clinics, prosecutors said. Their mother and Chris George's wife worked at Executive Pain on Okeechobee Boulevard, wiring fraudulent documents to pharmaceutical suppliers to keep the supply of oxycodone coming, prosecutors said.

As part of their plea deals, they all agreed to give up more than $45 million cash, houses, land, watches, rings and a Range Rover. But leaving the trappings of their former life is apparently for another day. When the relatives, sans Chris George, left the courthouse, they climbed into a green Range Rover and Infinity SUV, a model that starts at about $55,000. janemusgravepbpost.com Out on a $1 million bond since he was indicted with 32 others in August, he didn't appear in court to lend moral support to the brother who joined him in the fabulously j. George lucrative enterprise that is blamed for more than 50 overdose deaths.

Instead, his wife, Marlene, listened as her brother-in-law, sister-in-law and mother-in-law admitted they had broken the law by participating in the scheme that turned pain clinics throughout South Florida into prescription drug mills. While Jeff George is free on bond, he pleaded guilty to far more serious charges than his twin. He also pleaded guilty in state court to second-degree murder in connection with the overdose death of Joey Bartolucci. The 24-year-old overdosed in 2009 on hydromorphone tablets bought from Jeff George's clinic, East Coast Pain on Okeechobee Boulevard. Despite the murder conviction, Jeff George might not serve any more prison time than his brother.

As part of his plea deal, state prosecutors agreed he wouldn't serve any more than 20 years in prison because he can serve his state and federal sentences at the same time. In paperwork spelling out Chris George's plea deal, federal prosecutors reiterated the enormity of the illegal network he and his brother commanded. One of several clinics Chris George operated in Palm WARMER TIMES 2011 FALL Local AC Expert Guarantees ENERGY SAVINGS With Every Tune-Up 2 For anyone who's experienced either a cooling or heating breakdown, it's a compelling offer. A Tune-Up So Good It Comes With TWO Guarantees Get your air conditioning system restored to near its original peak performance for only $69 by Sam and the professionals at Service Experts Heating Air Conditioning, and you're covered two ways: Guarantee 1. If your air conditioner system breaks down in the next 6 months and needs repair for any reason, your $69 will be fully refunded, no questions asked.

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